A newly identified virus, termed the wetland virus (WELV), has been found in China and is capable of causing neurological disease in some cases. The virus is transmitted to humans through tick bites, media reports indicate.
The initial case was reported in June 2019 in Jinzhou city, where a 61-year-old patient developed symptoms of fever, headache, and vomiting five days after being bitten by ticks in the wetlands of Inner Mongolia. These symptoms proved resistant to antibiotics, according to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
WELV belongs to a family of viruses spread by ticks, similar to the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, which can lead to severe illness in humans. Following its discovery, researchers carried out an extensive investigation in northern China, collecting nearly 14,600 ticks from different locations. Approximately 2% of these ticks tested positive for WELV genetic material, predominantly from the Haemaphysalis concinna species.
The virus was also detected in various animals, including sheep, horses, pigs, and a rodent species known as the Transbaikal zokor. WELV demonstrated cytopathic effects in human umbilical-vein endothelial cells and led to fatal infections in animal models.
Further analysis of blood samples from forest rangers in the region revealed antibodies to WELV in 12 out of 640 individuals. Additional tests on patients with tick bites showed that 20 individuals tested positive for the virus, exhibiting symptoms ranging from fever and dizziness to nausea, diarrhea, and even coma in one case due to elevated white blood cell counts in the brain and spinal fluid.
While all patients eventually recovered following treatment, laboratory studies on mice indicated that WELV could cause severe infections and affect the nervous system. This suggests that although the virus may cause mild symptoms in some cases, it has the potential to lead to serious health complications, particularly involving the brain.
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